mskar

I had initially put Ed's document aside because the cluster lighting he documented was for a digital dash. Went back to that doc last night to look at the Pod switch and HVAC section to see if this was anything I wanted to get into. WOW, nice work Ed and thank you. All of the polarity and testing stuff I wrote above is in his document, and the document is 95% relevant to pre-digital dash cars (at least my S4).

jerybak

Great work on this topic as I too want to make the LED switch.

Looking to replace all the pod/center panel bulbs to LED in my 87S4. I have been following and it looks like you are close to having a compressive list of all required bulbs.

Are you including bulbs for the hazard, headlamp, fog light controls, HVAC Controls, Clock, Ash Tray, Glove Box?

mskar

So my pod went back in on Saturday and part of Sunday, I'm completely confused. I described my method of testing each LED with a 9V battery and marking a "-" on each LED, best guessing which connectors for the bulbs were grounds, etc. Every single red LED I put in was backward. I pulled them out, connected the panel to its connectors, and used a continuity test (audible) between the body and each. Seems like the "-" I marked on the bulb has to be opposite the connection to ground. More confusing, the green LEDs all appeared to work just fine. I can't vouch for the yellow or blue because I resorted to just trial and error after figuring out that the greens go in correct and the reds "backward". I'm posting my final pics, all bulbs working anyway, if someone knows where I went wrong I can mark-up the pics and maybe save some future S4 guy some random guessing.

The "-" I marked on the tracings were guesses prior to installing, the only information that *may* be correct in these photos is the "-" on the backs of the bulbs.

Edit: the black bulbs are in the trailer holder, and another that was previously empty. It also appears that the "servo" bulb serves no purpose on the 928.

mskar

Howards list:
Red bulbs: 14
Green bulbs: 4
Blue bulbs: 1
Amber bulbs: 1

was exactly right for my 88 S4 Instrument Warning Lights. Additionally you'll need the 3 main illumination LEDs, and if you want to do the Pod switches and HVAC, Ed's documentation lists those. My order arrived from autoillumination today, still waiting for the superbrightled components. I'll be able to verify this weekend whether this list is correct for the S4 but it seems like it should be.

jerybak

super, I will wait till you get your order and it all dialed in, then I guess I will run by SuperBriteLed as I live here in St Louis and its just down the road.

Thanks again for your efforts!

howdog928

I agree with Mskar on this. The pod switch leds are detailed in Ed Scherer's write up, same ones for us. As for the 3 main dash lights, I have the wedges from Garage 9 & also they do an HVAC control and clock LED upgrade - both of which I have and plan to install soon. Glove box is a simple festoon replacement along with all of the interior lights. Not sure about the ashtray but probably a fairly simple replacement too.

howdog928

Well, the bulbs from Autolumination arrived and have those installed. They are actually a snug fit, so going to risk not doing the tape as Ed and mskar have recommended and just re-installing the pods as-is. Worst case, if they do come loose I can always just pop them out & tape after it's all back together. Fingers crossed, lol. All pods have been tested in the car & all are working except the trip meter reset button. The bulb itself works, so not sure what the problem is there. Any ideas guys??

Otherwise using mskars photos to ensure all the bulbs are the right way round and will test them in the car later today.

bureau13

Maybe the bulb is smart enough to not light so you're not tempted to push it and break your odometer gear?

I have the Autoilumination bulb for the Headlight switch, and it wiggles itself loose from time to time. When I do the rest of them I'm going to try the tape.

howdog928

False alarm on the odometer reset button, forgot to plug something in last time. All pod switches working.

howdog928

And, following the polarity photos that mskar posted, it looks like all of my warning lights are now working, including high beam and turn signal indicators. Pics attached. What I don't have working yet are the 3 main wedges, but I am missing one of the bulb bases (on it's way from Roger as one broke when I took it out due to heat warping from the old incandescent bulb) so I'll wait until that arrives before I go any further. Currently burning the warning lights in for an hour or so in the car to ensure no bulbs blow.
So far, so good.

bureau13

Did you do anything with the "shift up light." I would love it if it could just be a redline warning, but this constant "Shift up!" shrieking every time I'm not in 5th gear and lightly pressing the gas is annoying. Is this already an LED or... I haven't seen anyone talk about ditching it or changing it's behavior in any way.

Another thing...I could have sworn I read about some issues with converting the blue high beams indicator with an LED. Did I imagine that?

buccicone

Howard, I'm about to start the LED upgrade on my '86.5. I bought all the indicator bulbs that you listed earlier from Superbright. I'm a little confused on a polarity issue. Reading your posts I wasn't sure there was a polarity issue on the indicator lights or just the switch lights?

howdog928

Hi Mike. Basically it does matter which way round you put the new bulbs in their bases. That goes for the warning lights in the instrument cluster/dash pod as well as the 5 pod switches too. But the pod switches is an easy check, if the bulb doesn't come on, pull it out & turn it 180 degrees & re insert. A lot harder to do with the instrument cluster bulbs but same principle.

howdog928

Lol, not sure which one is the shift light up so I guess no, I didn't do anything with it. Guess I don't push it hard enough!
On the high beams indicator, it's the same bulb type as the rest, no issues at all just replaced it along with all others and works fine as you see in the pics above.

buccicone

Howard, No chance of blowing a LED if wrong??